Nick Clegg is to call for a bail-like system of security bonds to tackle visa abuse and the latest round of military honours takes place later today

LIBERAL Democrat leader Nick Clegg is to call for a bail-like system of security bonds to tackle visa abuse in his first speech on immigration as deputy prime minister.

The bonds would be paid as a cash guarantee from visa applicants coming from high-risk countries and would be repaid once the visitor leaves Britain.

Mr Clegg will unveil the radical proposal as he outlines his vision for a “tolerant Britain, zero-tolerant of abuse” at the liberal think-tank, the Centre Forum.

Medals for Afghan campaign heroes

A SOLDIER who single-handedly battled insurgents in Afghanistan, two members of the RAF who defended Camp Bastion from an attack, and a female Army medic are among those recognised in the latest round of military honours.

Some 118 members of the British Armed Forces are included in the latest Operational Honours list, published in the London Gazette today.

Last weekend it was revealed that Lance-Corporal James Ashworth, of the First Battalion, The Grenadier Guards, became the first recipient of the Victoria Cross since 2006 after being awarded it posthumously.

Rain and snow bring chaos warning

BRITAIN faces a day of severe disruption as heavy snow, flooding and blizzard conditions blight the country.

Emergency services are already responding to a surge in weather-related call-outs with Government agencies issuing a string of warnings urging the public to take care on the roads.

More flooding is expected in the south-west as yesterday’s heavy rain continues to pour throughout the day and overnight.

Court to decide on Christian bus ad

THE High Court rules today in a case in which the Mayor of London has been accused of unlawfully banning a Christian group’s controversial advert about gays as he faced a mayoral election.

At a recent hearing, a judge was told that Boris Johnson was “politically driven” when he intervened to prevent the ad, which suggests that gay people can be helped to “move out of homosexuality”, appearing on the sides of London buses.

The ad posters read: “Not Gay! Ex-Gay, Post-Gay and Proud. Get over it!”

Cold weather hits gas supplies

WEEKS of unusually cold weather have drained nearly all of Britain’s gas supplies, sparking fears of a spike in energy prices, it has been reported.

Households have been forced to turn up their heating as the freezing weather continues, pushing the demand for gas to 20% higher than normal in March, The Times reported.

Last night gas stocks were just 10% full, compared to 49% this time last year, it said.

Tory splits over invasion revealed

WIDE divisions within the Conservative party over how the Government should respond to Argentina’s invasion of the Falklands are revealed as Margaret Thatcher’s 1982 private papers are made public.

While the Tories publicly presented a united front, briefing notes prepared for the Prime Minister demonstrate the polarised opinions she had to contend with in the early days of the crisis.

Until now the backroom deliberations have remained largely private but the notes are among those released by the Margaret Thatcher Archive Trust as it opens its files from a year which came to define Lady Thatcher’s career.

Sarkozy faces donations inquiry

FORMER French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been formally placed under investigation over claims that he illegally took donations from France’s richest woman on the way to his 2007 election victory.

A judge yesterday filed preliminary charges in a campaign finance case, after Mr Sarkozy, 58, went through hours of questioning in a Bordeaux courthouse, according to the prosecutor’s office.

The ex-president is accused of “abuse of someone in an impaired state” in the case involving L’Oreal cosmetics fortune heiress Liliane Bettencourt, who is now 90.

Police force sentenced over death

A POLICE force will be sentenced today for a health and safety breach over the fatal shooting of one of its officers in a training exercise.

Pc Ian Terry 32, was killed during the Greater Manchester Police (GMP) firearms training exercise at a disused warehouse in June 2008.

GMP’s Chief Constable Sir Peter Fahy, who assumed the post after Pc Terry was killed, pleaded guilty on behalf of his force at Liverpool Crown Court on January 22 to a breach of Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA).

‘Vicar’ conman due to be sentenced

A PROFESSIONAL conman who posed as a vicar and tricked charities out of thousands of pounds will be sentenced today.

George Christopher Gordon, 52, conned organisations into giving him money to pay for projects such as outreach work, support groups and social workers.

Gordon, of Chancellor Court, Toxteth, Liverpool, pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court on March 8 to 20 allegations of fraud and obtaining money transfers by deception between 2005 and 2007.

Ministers quit over failed ballot

A SECOND Australian government minister quit today in the fallout from a bungled leadership ballot.

The failed attempt to depose Prime Minister Julia Gillard reinforced perceptions of a crisis in her administration six months before national elections.

“This is the honourable thing to do,” Chris Bowen said after Ms Gillard accepted his resignation as minister of tertiary education, skills, science and research.